Time and a Half Calculator NZ

Time and a half is your ordinary hourly rate multiplied by 1.5. The arithmetic is the easy part, and this calculator does it along with double time and the totals for a mixed week. The part worth reading is what New Zealand law actually requires, because it surprises people. There is no general legal right to overtime pay in New Zealand. If you work more than forty hours, or more than your contracted hours, whether you are paid extra and at what rate is a matter for your employment agreement. Many agreements provide time and a half, many provide ordinary rates, and some provide time off in lieu instead. That is a contractual question, not a statutory one, and the only floor beneath it is that your total pay must not fall below the minimum wage for the hours you actually worked. There is one important exception. Under the Holidays Act 2003, if you work on a public holiday you must be paid at least time and a half for the hours worked, and that is a legal minimum your agreement cannot go below. If the public holiday also falls on a day you would otherwise have worked, you are additionally entitled to an alternative holiday, a whole paid day off to take later.

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$
$1,187.50
total gross pay for the period
Time and a half rate$37.50
Double time rate$50.00
Ordinary pay$1,000.00
Time and a half pay$187.50
Extra above ordinary rates$62.50

Gross pay before PAYE, KiwiSaver and any student loan deduction. Overtime rates in New Zealand are set by your employment agreement, not by law. Working on a public holiday is the exception and must be paid at least time and a half.

How it works

The time and a half rate is your ordinary rate multiplied by 1.5, and double time is the ordinary rate multiplied by 2. Each block of hours is multiplied by its own rate and the three are added together. The extra figure shows how much more you received than if every hour had been paid at the ordinary rate, which is the amount the penal rates are actually worth to you. All figures are gross, before PAYE and any other deduction.

Worked example

Take the defaults: an ordinary rate of $25.00 an hour, 40 ordinary hours and 5 hours at time and a half. The time and a half rate is $25.00 x 1.5, which is $37.50. Ordinary pay is 40 x $25.00, which is $1,000.00. The overtime is 5 x $37.50, which is $187.50. Total gross pay is $1,187.50. Had those five hours been paid at the ordinary rate they would have been worth $125.00, so the penal rate is worth $62.50 extra.

Related calculators

Data sources: public holiday pay of at least time and a half, and the entitlement to an alternative holiday, come from the Holidays Act 2003. See Employment New Zealand. Overtime for ordinary days is a matter for your employment agreement.

Frequently asked questions

Is overtime pay required by law in New Zealand?

No. There is no general legal right to overtime pay in New Zealand. Whether you are paid extra for additional hours, and at what rate, is set by your employment agreement. The only floor is that your total pay must not fall below the minimum wage for the hours you actually worked.

What is time and a half on a public holiday?

Under the Holidays Act 2003 you must be paid at least time and a half for the hours you work on a public holiday. This is a legal minimum that your employment agreement cannot reduce, and it applies whether or not the day was one you would otherwise have worked.

What is an alternative holiday?

If you work on a public holiday that falls on a day you would otherwise have worked, you are entitled to a whole paid day off to take later, on top of being paid time and a half. It is a full day regardless of how many hours you worked on the public holiday.